LONDON (Reuters) - Central banks in emerging markets are under growing pressure to raise interest rates, to support their currencies and head off inflation caused by weaker exchange rates.
Following is a list of countries that have raised rates or are expected to do so in the face of an accelerating exodus of foreign investors.
For an interactive map on emerging market currencies: click http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/14/currency/currency.html
TURKEY - raised all its interest rates on January 29: the overnight lending rate to 12 percent from 7.75 percent, the one-week repo rate to 10 percent from 4.5 percent, and the overnight borrowing rate to 8 percent from 3.5 percent. The bank has said it may tighten further if necessary.
SOUTH AFRICA - raised rates for the first time in almost six years on January 30, increasing the repo rate by 50 bps to 5.50 percent. The South African Reserve Bank said the move was aimed at taming inflation rather than defending the exchange rate.
INDIA - surprised markets by raising rates 25 bps on January 28 to 8 percent, to dampen inflation and prepare for the risk of major capital outflows.
BRAZIL - raised rates by a bigger-than-expected 50 bps to 10.50 percent on January 15. The central bank has signalled it may not be ready to slow an aggressive rate-hike cycle because of stubbornly high inflation.
NIGERIA - lifted cash reserve requirements on public sector deposits held by banks on January 21 and tightened foreign exchange rules on Feb 7 to stem the naira weakness. Yet the naira hit a fresh-two-year low on Thursday, prompting the central bank to intervene in the market. Analysts expect rates to rise 100 bps later this year.
GHANA - raised its main policy rate by 2 full percentage points to 18 percent on Feb 6 to curb a fall in the cedi currency. But the cedi has been hitting record lows against the dollar.
KAZAKHSTAN - devalued the tenge by 19 percent on Feb 11, citing the weakness of the rouble of Russia, the country's biggest trade partner. President Nursultan Nazarbayev ordered officials to raid the country's strategic oil reserve and slash banks' bad loans to boost the economy.
RUSSIA - left interest rates on hold on Feb 14 but warned that it may tighten policy if a weakening rouble causes inflation to deviate from its targets. The rouble briefly hit all-time lows against the euro and the dollar-euro basket before the rate decision.
UKRAINE - the central bank has been intervening in the market as the hryvnia hits a four-year low against the dollar. It also imposed new capital controls on Feb 7, having spent about 8 percent of its reserves on currency intervention in January alone.
ROMANIA - cut interest rates to a record low 3.5 percent on February 4, but the move marks the end of a 175-bps rate-cut cycle, analysts said. Governor Mugur Isarescu said volatile capital flows were a risk to the inflation outlook.
INDONESIA - kept rates steady on January 9 at 7.50 percent but pledged vigilance over capital outflow risks. The central bank has raised rates by 175 bps since last June and is expected to do so again this year.
HUNGARY - surprised markets by cutting rates to a record low of 2.85 percent on January 21. But recent forint weakness has caused interest rate markets to price in rate hikes in the next 12 months. Expectations two months ago were for little change.
MAURITIUS - central bank governor Rundheersing Bheenick said the country needed to raise its 4.
(Compiled by Sujata Rao and Natsuko Waki; Editing by John Stonestreet)
